- by Meg Dean

Owen Sound has now implemented their Community Engagement site. You do need to register for it but you will not be asked your name. You do need to provide an email address, your year of birth, and your postal code. You do not have to reside in Owen Sound – you can also work (volunteer or paid), visit or own a business in Owen Sound.

You can choose how engaged you want to be – they will ask you if you'd like to be part of focus groups, interviews, etc.

You can go to the regular Owen Sound site to register or to the home page of the community engagement website.

The site operates by project. It's a little unclear but I think that when a survey or other feedback opportunity appears the site will email you. [Editors note: We have not found that to be the case,]

Currently the site is asking people to respond to the police services survey. Upcoming projects that the City will ask for public input include the Climate Action Strategy.

The site provides a timeline so I know public input will occur in March to April of 2023. Having done city surveys before, most are usually about 10 minutes. Sometimes, as with the Climate Action Strategy, a respondent may want to read some background information which is included on the site (or a link to them is included). But whether one reads the info or not is entirely up to the respondent. One thing that is very nice is that each project gives the name and contact information for the lead(s) on that project. 

The other projects on the site right now are: Kelso Beach Master Plan Update, Community Engagement Review, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Strategy, and Public Art Map. Some of the Projects are past their community engagement periods but are still being implemented, such as the Community Engagement Review and Kelso Master Plan. Other projects, such as the Art Map, are ongoing. I don't know when a project will be moved from Published to Archived.

The last couple of things that are important to know:

These strategies and plans are how the city operates. Some are mandated by the province and some are city initiatives. Some may seem too broad to be useful at times but if you think of them as the bones and the details as the flesh and guts, then you will get a better idea. 

Because they are written down you can hold the city accountable for them.